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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23385856">fire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokutoma/pseuds/bokutoma'>bokutoma</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>music, when soft voices die [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 15:16:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>665</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23385856</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokutoma/pseuds/bokutoma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>higher, and i can't come down; desire is taking control over me</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>music, when soft voices die [9]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1494992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>fire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>early post courtesy of ludo!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Edelgard is going to change the world. That's not an exaggeration, spoon-fed to her by advisers and simpering sycophants; those closest to her are far more likely to bicker and swear, after all. Neither is it a mantra embedded in the core of her since birth - if it had been, that memory has long since been ripped from her - but rather an undeniable truth.</p><p>She would rather it be her who does the changing, after all. Either way, this old Fódlan has started to collapse, and it will be up to the strong, the quick, and the clever to reshape it. Failure is not an option, not when she has come so far and fought through so much.</p><p>Perhaps despite all her efforts, despite Ferdinand's bold initiative, Hubert's lethal cunning, and her own iron will, she might have failed in another life. Perhaps that future wouldn't be all bad, either; certainly, there are and were other capable leaders on the continent.</p><p>They don't know about those who slither in the dark, though. It has to be her, or else they win, and, to that end, it's a good thing she's incapable of failure when she has her lucky charm.</p><p>Byleth has cheered for her before she even knew how.</p><p>Even in those early days, stone-faced and brusque as she had been, Byleth had been quick with a companionable pat on the shoulder or a murmured word of praise. Those hadn't been reserved exclusively for Edelgard, of course, no matter how jealously she may have guarded them, but they had been hers all the same, proof that her teacher wanted to support her as desperately as she had wanted to be supported.</p><p>To stand against the church, against Rhea herself, in open defiance and swear to protect Edelgard...no one had ever done such a thing for her before. They have changed so much, her friends and allies, and to have them stand with her is a greater blessing than the goddess has ever given her.</p><p>"El," a voice calls from behind her as she mulls this over, fists clenched on the lip of a ghost house, ransacked and empty. "Hubert's been looking for you."</p><p>An innocuous enough thing to say, of course, but to see Byleth approaching with a smile on her face is to know what happiness tastes like. "My teacher," Edelgard calls in kind, some secret contentment of her own making itself known on her own face. "I didn't think you had agreed to play messenger."</p><p>Byleth's grin twists into something wry, and Edelgard aches with joy that she can read these minute details, once so foreign and inaccessible to her. "Maybe I just wanted to see you."</p><p>Edelgard's heart beats fast in her chest at that, and she is certain she looks like a fool. "You never need an excuse for that."</p><p>Byleth steps closer still, and it's with a jolt that Edelgard realizes her teacher is nearly close enough to kiss. It's no use asking where that thought came from, either; she has wanted that even before she was able or willing to name it. "You don't have to be so formal with me, El. I like to think we're closer than that."</p><p>And Edelgard does smile at that, despite the war that haunts her every step and the past that holds her in an iron grip. There's something about her teacher that melts that all away. "So what should I call you instead?"</p><p>Byleth tilts her head down, drops her gaze to Edelgard's mouth like, despite everything that the elder knows about her, she still might be desirable, still might be worthy of love. It gnaws a hole that's almost like panic in her chest, but Edelgard raises her head to meet her, less than a breath away.</p><p>"Call me yours," Byleth murmurs, low and passionate and everything that Edelgard has looked up to all these years. "I want to call you mine."</p><p>When they kiss, it tastes like fire.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i'm on twitter @kingblaiddyd</p></blockquote></div></div>
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